Howard County police said three people were killed and five others were injured when a shooter opened fire in Columbia Mall Saturday morning.

Howard County police said three people were killed and five others were injured when a shooter opened fire in Columbia Mall Saturday morning.

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Updated: 7:34 PM EST Jan 25, 2014

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WEBVTT LIVE, LOCAL, LATEBREAKING, THIS IS SPECIAL BREAKING NEWS ON THE COLUMBIA MALL SHOOTING. I HEARD SOMEBODY SAY THAT SHOTS WERE FIRED. THREE PEOPLE FELL TO THE GROUND. BIG SHOTS GET GOING AND DID NOT STOP. I DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG IT LASTED. IT NEVER STOP. WITNESSES DESCRIBED THOSE TERRIFYING MOMENTS AND SIDE THE COLUMBIA MALL AFTER A GUNMAN OPENED FIRE. IT SENT SHOPPERS INSIDE RUNNING FOR COVER. THANK YOU FOR STAYING WITH US. IF YOU ARE JUST JOINING US, I WENT TO GIVE YOU A TIMELINE OF THE EVENTS AS THEY UNFOLDED. AROUND 11:15, POLICE RESPONDED TO SHOOTING AT THE MALL. THEY FOUND THREE PEOPLE DEAD. ONE OF THE VICTIMS IS THE SHOOTER. THE OTHER TWO HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY HOWARD COUNTY POLICE AS BRIANNA BENLOLO, 21 OF COLLEGE PARK, AND TYLER JOHNSON, 25 OF ELLICOTT CITY . THEY ARE MONITORING THE POLICE PRESENCE AT THE MALL. JAYNE MILLER HAS BEEN STAYING IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH LAW OF ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS. IT REMAINS AN ACTIVE SCENE INSIDE THE MALL. THE PARKING LOT IS FULL OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MEDIA AND NO ONE ELSE. ALL OF THE SHOPPERS THAT WERE HERE WHEN THIS HAPPEN ARE GONE. INSIDE REMAINS A VERY ACTIVE CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION. AS YOU SAID, 11:15, A MAN WITH A GUN INSIDE A STORE STARTS FIRING. A FEMALE VICTIM, A YOUNG WOMAN FALLS DOWN. ALSO A MALE EMPLOYEE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED. WE'LL HAVE THOSE IDENTITIES IN A MOMENT. THE GUN MAN SHOT HIMSELF. IT WAS A VERY CONFINED SITUATION AND CONTAIN SITUATION, BUT BECAUSE THE MAN WAS CARRYING A SHOTGUN, BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT HAD SO MUCH AMMUNITION ON HIM AND POLICE ARE NOT CERTAIN WHAT ELSE HE MIGHT HAVE HAD WITH THEM AND ARE NOT CERTAIN OF THE MOTIVE, THAT HAS REALLY SLOWED DOWN THIS INVESTIGATION. THAT IS WHY THIS REMAINS AN ACTIVE SCENE INSIDE THE MALL WHILE POLICE TRIED TO ACCOUNT FOR ALL OF AMMUNITION AND EVERYTHING SURROUNDING THE GUNMAN, AS WELL AS ANY EVIDENCE SURROUNDING THE SHOOTING ITSELF. AS FOR THE MOTIVE AND WHAT THEY THINK IT IS, POLICE WERE VERY CLEAR THAT AT THIS POINT THEY ARE NOT READY TO SAY EXACTLY WHAT THIS WAS OR WASN'T. I WANT TO CLEAR UP SOMETHING. IT HAS BEEN CIRCLING IN THE MEDIA THAT THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED BY SOME AS A DOMESTIC RELATED INCIDENT. WE HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF THAT YET . I WILL GET BACK TO ANY A SECOND ON WHERE WE ARE IN THIS INVESTIGATION. I'M NOT SURE WHERE THAT INFORMATION IS COMING FROM. A NUMBER OF AGENCIES ARE RESPONDING TO THIS. WE ARE INVESTIGATING THE SHOOTING INCIDENT. WE DO NOT KNOW YET WHAT CAUSED THE SHOOTING INCIDENT. ANY ATTRIBUTION THAT THIS IS DOMESTICALLY RELATED OR SOMETHING ELSE IS PURELY SPECULATION. IT HAS BEEN FRUSTRATING FOR US TO HEAR DOMESTIC OR NOT DOMESTIC. WE DO NOT KNOW. WE LITERALLY DO NOT KNOW WHO THE SHOOTER IS. HE HAD A LOT OF AMMUNITION ON HIM. KNOWING THAT THEY HAD TIME TO GO THROUGH THAT AND A LOT OF OTHER THINGS TO DO, THEY ARE GOING TO FOCUS ON WHO THIS IS. ONCE WE KNOW A MOTIVE, WE WILL TALK ABOUT THAT PUBLICLY. THAT WILL BE PART OF THE INVESTIGATION FOR WHY THIS CRIME HAPPENED. A SHORT TIME AGO, HOWARD COUNTY POLICE IDENTIFIED THE TWO EMPLOYEES OF THE STORE THAT WERE SHOT AND KILLED. BRIANNA BENLOLO, 21 OF COLLEGE PARK, AND TYLER JOHNSON, 25 OF ELLICOTT CITY. THIS REMAINS AN ACTIVE INVESTIGATIVE SCENE INSIDE THE MALL. THIS HAPPENED ON THE SECOND LEVEL OF THE MALL ABOVE THE FOOD COURT. THIS IS IN THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF THE COLUMBIA MALL. IT WAS IN A STORE KNOWN AS A SKATE SHOP. BOTH VICTIMS WHO WERE KILLED WERE EMPLOYEES OF THE STORE. MUCH MORE TO COME AS THE INVESTIGATION UNFOLDS. BACK TO YOU IN THE STUDIO. BEFORE YOU GO, I RECEIVED A TEXT FROM A FAMILY MEMBER WHO IS SAYING THAT IT IS SO SAD IT HAPPENED HERE. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT WHAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN. I DO NOT WANT TO SPECULATE, BUT THE DRILLS AND THE PREPARATION, WE HAVE HEARD THAT ALL DAY OF HOW PEOPLE SEEM TO REACT APPROPRIATELY. WE HEARD FROM WITNESSES WHO WERE IN THE MALL WHEN IT HAPPENED AND HEARD THE SHOTS FIRED. THEY SCRAMBLED FOR COVER AND DOVE UNDER TABLES. MANY OF THEM WERE IN STORIES IN AREAS OF THE MALL. THEY DESCRIBE EMPLOYEES OF THE OTHER STORES HEARD IT IN THE BACK OF THE STORE. THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE SAID THAT THE COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT TRAINS WITH THE MALL SECURITY SO THAT THEY WERE PREPARED FOR THE UNTHINKABLE. NOBODY WANTS TO GO TO THE MALL ON A SATURDAY MORNING AND THINK THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN. IT HAS HAPPENED A NUMBER OF TIMES IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. WHAT HAPPENED TODAY AND IN THE CONFUSION AND THE CHAOS BROKE OUT, EMPLOYEES IN THE MALL KNEW WHAT TO DO. THEY DID THE RIGHT THING. THEY GOT PEOPLE INSIDE THE STORE TO SAFETY. POLICE SPENT ALL AFTERNOON GOING THROUGH ALL CORNERS OF THE MALL TO ACCOUNT FOR EVERYONE WHO IS IN THE STORE AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTING.

3 killed, 5 injured in Columbia Mall shooting

Howard County police said three people were killed and five others were injured when a shooter opened fire in Columbia Mall Saturday morning.